Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart accused state Sen. Sylvia Garcia of delaying her resignation to boost her state pension even though it could leave 840,000 people in and around Houston without representation when the Texas Legislature convenes in January.

Abbott’s staff told Garcia that her “intent to resign” letter is insufficient. Abbott’s chief of staff told Garcia she has to submit a resignation letter without the word “intent.” Garcia has refused to do so, saying her intent to resign should be enough and that she wants to continue to represent her constituents until another senator takes office.

Stanart, who is up for re-election in November, said Garcia’s staff is trying to make “some political points by dragging me into this issue.” He said he does not have the authority to call a special election for her Senate district as Garcia’s attorney had contended.

“I also understand that the likely reason you want to delay your resignation until after Jan. 1, 2019, is to increase your state pension,” Stanart said.

In a follow-up interview, Stanart said he did not know how much money per year Garcia stands to gain by waiting until January to resign. State lawmaker pensions typically require a minimum of 8 years of service for vesting. Garcia has been in office for about 5 years and 5 months. But she would be able to combine her previous service in county government to boost her pension returns.

Garcia won her Democratic primary in the 29th Congressional District and is now heavily favored to defeat Republican Phillip Aronoff in the general election. If she wins, her salary will be $174,000 a year. Plus, according to Garcia’s financial disclosure reports, she also collects $60,840 a year from the city of Houston for her pension from serving as a judge and as the city’s controller. She was a judge from 1993 to 1998. She was controller from 1998 to 2002.

She also receives a $30,981 a year pension from the county for her service on the commissioners' court from 2002 to 2010. Currently, she earns $6,640 a year as a state senator, a role she's occupied since winning a March 2013 special election.

Garcia did not agree to an interview for this story but sent a statement to the Houston Chronicle that did not answer whether she would financially benefit from delaying her retirement to January.

“The Governor won't do his job, and apparently, neither will members of his Party with the responsibility to enforce the State Constitution,” Garcia said in the statement. “I have no intention of stooping to their game of personal attacks. Instead, I will continue fighting to make sure the 850,000 Texans of SD 6 have a Senator on the floor Day 1 of the legislative session.”

The 6th District she represents includes Houston’s East End, South Houston and part of Pasadena; it stretches all the way out to Baytown. If Garcia had resigned before Aug. 20, Abbott could have set a special election for her replacement on November 6, the same day as the midterm elections.

Instead, Abbott now says he is unable to set a special election until after the general election, which increases the risks of not having a new member in place when the Legislature convenes Jan. 8. That could be an issue for Democrats in the Senate who are already greatly outnumbered. The Senate currently has 20 Republicans and 11 Democrats. If that breakdown remains after the midterm elections, Democrats could enter the session with just 10 state senators while a special election is set up.

Two Houston Democrats, state Reps. Carol Alvarado and Ana Hernandez, have already announced they will run for the 6th District when a special election is declared.